Ex-Romanian President Accused of Crimes Against Humanity During 1989 Revolution

CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st December, 2018) Former Romanian President Ion Iliescu is accused of crimes against humanity that were committed during the 1989 revolution, the Romanian Prosecutor General's Office said on Friday in a statement.

"Prosecutors of the military prosecution department opened a new part of the criminal investigation against Ion Iliescu [former president, head of the National Salvation Front], Gelu Voiculescu [former member of the National Salvation Front, former deputy prime minister], Iosif Rus [former head of the military aviation] as well as Emilia Dumitrescu [former member of the National Salvation Front], who are suspected of crimes against humanity, as part of the case called December 1989 Romanian Revolution," the statement said.

According to the prosecution, the National Salvation Front seized control over the country's Defense Ministry and Interior Ministry and became responsible for all state security decisions.

"As a result of the created terror psychosis, many fratricidal clashes, sporadic shootouts and controversial military orders took place ... The terror psychosis was provoked by intentional leak of information and deliberate misinformation and left 862 people dead, 2,150 injured, hundreds of illegal detentions and [multiple] psychological traumas after December 22, 1989," the statement noted.

The December 1989 revolution toppled the Communist government while then leader Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife were shot on December 25, 1989.